Took a cruise to Boca Grande.

[cfkingfish]

About 20 miles south of my house lies Gasparilla Island - famous for being not so famous. Here lies some of the nicest houses in Florida, accessible by only one bridge from the north. This place has an excellent borderline 10b/11 microclimate that is comparable to coastal Dade County (Miami). The way it is situated, the island lies around large bodies of water (Charlotte Harbor and the Gulf of Mexico) and I am not sure if frost has ever scraped the island, even in the 80s. Here is a picture for reference:

[cfkingfish]

So anyways, crusing onto the island, it is like you have crossed the US1 bridge on Jewfish Creek and entered the Florida Keys. Iguanas are everywhere, life is laid back, and more importantly, the scenery changes. They actually filmed the movie Out of Time with Denzel Washington on the island, which was supposed to take place on a ficticious Florida Key. I honestly though they filmed it in Key Largo, but they had me fooled. Here are some pictures of the place:

[cfkingfish]

Transportation next to very large mansion in town. This is where the Bush family goes for vacation when W is in town.

I wish I had gotten more photos, but it was a pain to stop the bike, pull out the camera from my backpack, and take pictures without drawing attention from homeowners already "alarmed" that a motorcycle was around town.

A ton of Cocos - "tall" varieties are abound on the island, as LY never was able to jump over the harbor from the Fort Myers area in the 1980s, and many Panama Talls hang around all the way up to St. Pete to this day.

[Fred Zone 10A]

Cool!  When's the last time a hurricane hit?

[cryptobionic]

Thanks for those pics! I've been all over Florida, but never made it over there, I guess now it's gonna be a future destination for me. Looks very Carribean.

[cfkingfish]

(Fred Zone 10A @ Aug. 09 2006,23:49)

QUOTE

Cool!  When's the last time a hurricane hit?

Hurricane Charley in August 2004 actually came through Boca Grande pass, a large inlet where Boca Grande is separated from Cayo Costa, the island to the south. It is very eerie when you are out on a boat near the pass, if you look down to the pass, and back up the harbor towards Punta Gorda, you can almost imagine this violent being parting the water and roaring up into the harbor. I wish I had a picture but I tend to be the captain on board and focus on not bottoming out!

Here is a picture of the same map with Charley's path of 145mph winds on Aug 13, 2004. Towns to the north fared well, but Port Charlotte down to Fort Myers was hit pretty bad.

[JakeK]

Christian,

Nice photos. There are about a dozen families from the area of town I live in that have winter homes in Boca Grande, all of which I know fairly well. Very nice salt water fly fishing in the area around Boca Grande and Cayo Costa. I even have been snorkeling in that area. The water was exceptionally clear. Perfect visibility for about 10m.

Jake

[Jeff Searle]

Have you noticed any other palm species growing in yards that would be considered unusual? Besides coconuts, Veitchias, Arecas,etc. Any large Dypsis, Bottles, Foxtails, maybe a small Carpoxylon?

   Thanks for posting! :cool:

[cfkingfish]

Jeff-

That was actually my point of visit - hoping I would find some rarities. The "rarest" stuff I saw were Latanias, a few very old T. radiata, and a Caryota that was solitary. The place is essentially uninhabited until October, I think I will go back then.

[Kris]

(cfkingfish @ Aug. 09 2006,23:46)

QUOTE

I wish I had gotten more photos, but it was a pain to stop the bike, pull out the camera from my backpack, and take pictures without drawing attention from homeowners already "alarmed" that a motorcycle was around town.

Dear Cfking Fish  

i know the feeling ! in my collage days even i used to take lots of pictures of things that pleased me_I think you know what i mean ?  

but at times i felt as though i was doing investigative journalism so thrilling it was.  :cool:

and by the way it is healthy CIDP photo in post no.3.this palm happens to be one of my favouriates_so thanks.

[BobbyinNY]

Christian,

it's beautiful...... reminds me of "Old" florida... before the condo-mentality took over.

[Walter John]

Great post, great maps and photos, excellent easy to follow,

I guess this place could do well with an exotic palm nursery. I'm sure some tropical stuff would grow there under canopy, like Licualas and Pinangas.

[cfkingfish]

The sad part is that most of the central and north parts of the island are being converted into condos - these areas were previously woodland/scrubland free of any invasives, save where they planted Aussie pines on the causeway. The town of Boca Grande is the nice, Key Westish area that is preserved well with old buildings and proper houses.

Land for a nursery is not even available even if you had the one million USD per acre to put down on it. I imagine you could grow any Licuala or Pinanga you wanted given the temps, but the soil is actually very poor and salt spray is everywhere. the island is only a quarter mile wide in many parts and those salt-hating tropicals would need protection (maybe a few Attaleas?   )

Also, some of the best looking Ban Yan trees (Ficus benghalensis) once lived here, and many died in Charley. There are many left, but you can see just the main trunk and a few branches survived.

[amazon exotics]

Jeff, Sanibel & Captiva are sister islands to Gasparilla island  and I have planted all the palms you mentioned there and many more varietys than that. Most palms that are grown in Miami do fine on the islands over here with a few acceptions like C renda for one.  My neighbors also has a Carpoxylon that is doing just great. I haven't found too many palms that won't live on the Lee island coast. By the way, my neighbors are Bill & Robbin. They have bought palms form you before.

[glbower]

Christian's right about the Boca Grande area. I live in Punta Gorda and used to bike on the island quite a bit when I had more spare time (i.e. before the palm obsession hit).

There's a great bicycle trail that runs the length of the island and biking is a great way to see the place if you don't mind dodging the giant exotic iguanas that infest the place.

Palm tree variety is zilch, mostly coconuts and royals. But, it's that way in the rest of Southwest Florida for some reason. Great climate,but most people plant the same 9 or 10 varieties. In Charlotte County, I know of only three or four palm enthusiasts.

[bubba]

Christian, Never knew that Denzel flick was filmed at Gasparilla. What a great spot. Feels exactly like the Keys except everyone driving around in golf carts. Great "Pete Dye" track right on the water totally done with Paspalum turf, greens included, at the Hotel.Who was the super hot actress in that movie together with the crazy taxi driver? Great stuff back here in the good old days!